Your Journey Experiences

01/20/2010

Post them here!
Add your's by using the comments link, we aim to send them to Southeastern so they can learn what an average commuter has to endure every day just to get to work.

Comments

Paul Cutts

01/20/2010 08:10

Hello,
I am a daily commuter into the City, and have never thought the "service" provided is particularly fantastic. Because I work in the London Bridge/Cannon St area the easiest thing for me to do, avoiding the tubes and further costs is to change at Otford, go back to Sevenoaks and pick up a direct service into London from there. This was the case until the timetable was altered and have yet to find a suitable train including connections that gets me in within a reasonable time. Have also found that driving to Sidcup and travelling from there is an alternative. Either way is stressful and tedious. In my opinion, the Blackfriars service needs to be increased, one train in the evening is always packed. £3404.00 a year for this service. Very tempted to just walk!

Disguntled and Unhappy

01/20/2010 08:12

What a bunch of totaly useless people Southeastern are. Could not run a piss up in a brewery.

Dean Garratt

01/20/2010 08:12

After all the chaos with the snow Southeastern managed to run a 'normal' service on Monday 18 January 2010. This lasted all of one day and by Tuesday the 17.45 from Blackfriars to Ashford was late and formed of four coaches not eight. Yet another exammple of Southeastern's disasterous realtionship with Capital Connect. Is it any coincidence that the service has been appalling since March 2009 when they got in bed with a train operating company, that if at all possible, is more incompotent than Southeastern? As ever, utterly frustrating and why do Southeastern customers suffer problems realting to Capital Connect rolling stock? I certainly did not buy a handsomely priced ticket from them!

Tanya Ahmed

01/20/2010 08:37

Working in the Farringdon area I used to take the only Capital Connect service available from West Malling leaving at 7.00 am and returning at 5.51pm from Farringdon which was unreliable. I have avoided going to Victoria for some time now. On days that I was starting late I was able to take the London Bridge train which has now been terminate. Due to the unreliability of the service to Farringdon and the closure of the London Bridge service, I now travel to Ebbsfleet by car to take the HS1 into St Pancreas, London. I have been doing this on a daily basis since October 2009. Although it costs more, at least I have less stress to deal with and can see the benefits to my general health and wellbeing. There seems to be not other choice...

Dee Evans

01/20/2010 08:54

I moved to the area almost two years ago and bitterly regret it because of the commute to work in Holborn. To avoid the nightmare of Victoria tube station at peak time I now get the 8.29 (previously the 8.24) train to Victoria. It hasn't arrived at Victoria on time once since it was introduced. The commute home is no better - that train has been late every day for weeks too. I am heartily sick of it and it's sending my stress levels sky high. I am looking to move to an area where there is a decent service into Charing Cross - Sevenoaks perhaps?

Helen Woolcomb

01/21/2010 06:52

Working at St Pauls, City ThamesLink was working fine and if I worked late the 7.14 was perfect. The Bedford train is such a flaky service and I cannot bring myself to take the victoria service and then a tube.
So since my season ticket ran out Dec 30th I have been trying other routes, driving to Orpington, fast service to London Bridge cheap fares, then I tried the fast speed (when stopping in the bad weather) from Strood, great service into St Pancras but then tube. i dont think I will be driving to Ebbsfleet to get a train then a tube then walk, way too expensive.
Paddock Wood, expensive and seems odd to go out further to go back into London.
So I find myself trying a different route, I now drive to New Eltham, this is my first stress free travel week of the year and sooo much cheaper.
I have decided to try all different routes to see what suits best as I cannot cope with West Malling any longer.

sharon sim

01/21/2010 09:26

Mine and my husband’s journey was horrendous on Wednesday 13th January and still we never made it! Here it the story of our pain!!
left home 06:50
arrived sevenoaks station 07:30
no fast trains to london - all "delayed" - even the 0559
we boarded what we thought was the 0756 to kentish town (very slow metro service that stops everywhere)
this then was marked on the indicator board as the 0824 to KT

All of a sudden at 0801 it left with no announcement or warning at all and unfortunately this meant that approx 50 or so people who were only sitting on it to keep warm were stuck on a train going the wrong way
mass panic as they then had to get off at next station and wait another hour to get back to where they had started (if they were lucky)!!

our train took 2 hours to get to Denmark Hill and then sat for another 20 mins.

at 1030 we gave up (at Elephant & Castle) and decided to go home and walked across platform for another train that was being advertised at 1024 back to sevenoaks - this was marked as being ON TIME although obviously it was nothing of the sort - we sat and waited and then suddenly that train evaporated into thin air and the only train being then offered was at 1224!!! announcements being made were pre-recorded and did not apply to the line we were on! The station was totally unmanned and no-one providing any assistance whatsoever.

we eventually took a tube to charing cross to get a train home.........
finally arrive back home at 1330

6 hours of sheer hell and total lack of information or communication.

southeastern should review their procedures - truly appalling and they are NEVER held to account!!!!

Peter Gough

01/21/2010 09:43

I have used the West Malling to London Bridge and vice versa service since moving to Kings Hill in 2003.

Since the cancellation of these trains I have had nothing but an exhausting time trying to get to my offices at London Bridge.

I have tried driving to Chelsfield/Orpington and have tried the 'West Malling/Otford/Sevenoaks' shuffle (relying on 3 trains only increases the chances of problems by as many times) - either way my commute time is up by approximately 1.5 hours per day. That time is my family time and I hold both the DoT and SETrains responsible for this - their excuses were pathetic and their reasons purely commercial.

The DoT Minister Chris Mole's 'data' expected commuters journey time to be increased by no more than 15-30 mins.

The removal of this service leaves me no choice but to either use two forms of transport (the car to Chelsfield then train) or move from Kings Hill and disrupt my whole family’s life - thank you to both Chris Mole and Michael Holden (MD of SET) for your lack of public service and empathy for us commuters - and all for the sake of £650,000?

Liz Simpson

01/21/2010 11:29

I live in East Malling and I know that you have decided not to include East Malling in your Rail Travel Association - which is a shame as it is in Malling - but I wanted to flag up the frustrations of trying to get into Maidstone before Christmas. The website was saying that trains were running on time and people were slogging up the station after checking the website (and after the train would have left London) and finding that the train had been cancelled. There is no information system on the down side of the station and we only found out that train was cancelled 15 minutes after itshould have arrived by squinting across the track at the display board on the up side. Why have a system which purports to give up to date live information when it clearly doesn't. What a shambles.

Phil Brooks

01/22/2010 01:29

Where does one start on? There's simply far too many issues to discuss!? The service offered by SET has been a joke since the new timetable hit. This is the worse service I have ever experienced - even taking Connex into account. The period just before Christmas (18th & 21st December) was particularly disgusting. The SE website was a waste of time as was the National Rail one. Waited at West Malling on both days for hours for the first trains on both occasions, and returned twice on both days. The communication from SE was absolute zero. How can you not know where your trains are? On the Monday (21st Dec) on the 3rd time of turning up we were told eventually, that there would be nothing for 7 hours. Needless to say, gave up after that! Then onto the New Year - w/c 4th was just about even worse. Managed to get into City Thameslink on the first Bedford train everyday except Friday, when I got in at 10.30...! My gut feeling is that over the course of that week SE were actually using the FCC trains as ice breakers, but then of course the SE trains were then struggling after that and as a result, needless to say the service was awful! Have tried various trains home from both Victoria (tube to there from ironically, Mansion House - 2 minutes from Cannon Street as Blackfriars tube is shut) and City Thameslink. The 15.07 from Victoria is probably at best OK but the 15.37 at just 4 carriages is generally packed, dirty and a fair bit slower than the old wonderful Cannon Street 15.14. Everyone on board these trains now looks so depressed. The 15.09 from City Thameslink is fairly reliable but takes an hour to get to Otford for the connection with the 16.12. It stops at 18 stations in total and is completely soul destroying. My "journey disbenefit", to quote Chris Mole, home is on average 45 minutes on a good day. My family life has now been affected as a result of this, due to child-care issues. It's not good at all. I note today that the 7.53 from WM was cancelled, so yet more misery for the people waiting for that one. Still there'll be another train along in 30 minutes, would no doubt be the SET stance. Has anyone noticed on the website that the "Daily performance" page convieniently disappeared after 11th December? I presume that SE simply don't want to publish just how bad the situation has been. I thought that this formed part of the passengers charter, but I might be wrong? Great news report last week on South East today, about the HSI, with the headline "When High Speed doesn't work"! One last point - has anyone heard a real heart felt apology from SE over the course of the last few weeks? At least FCC with all their problems of late, have had the guts to admit their mishaps and mistakes and have offered a good compensation package. Check out their website. I would say that their info and general communication is somewhat better than what we have to put up with! Chris Mole and Charles Horton should be looking into this complete mess (across the whole of the network) - created by them, as a matter of urgency. Thank Heavens we have the likes of Sir John Stanley, Ann Widdecombe and Roger Gale (MP for Thanet) fighting this cause. Well done SET, the DofT and Network Rail for turning so many peoples lives upside down...!

Donald A. Preece

01/22/2010 06:42

I took the 9.23 from Barming to Victoria
this morning. It was 9 minutes late at
Barming. There were people standing
in the latter part of the journey.

I generally buy a Travel Permit at
Barming, the ticket office being shut,
and then buy a Travel Card on the train.
Two days ago, my travel card would not
pass through any of the ticket machines
at Victoria or on the Underground. This is not a new phenomenon, just
another waste of time that we have to
suffer, thanks to our rail company.

Donald A. Preece
Resident of Tonbridge & Malling

Mark Prebble

01/23/2010 06:50

Life can be truely miserable as a commuter on SE Trains. One service to the City in the morning and one in the evening. These are also so unreliable that you have to check on the website to see if they are actually running, then put your faith in a website that lies. The service during December and January has been appalling.S E Trains should not be operating they need to be replaced.

Daniel Burr

01/25/2010 11:26

phil

01/26/2010 15:13

Stuff happens...!

Can't totally blame SET for what happened today, BUT then I can really because of the TT change. Running 5 minutes late, I got the 15.09 FCC from City Thameslink. Door problem at Blackfriars which carried on until Peckham Rye. 8 carriages reduced to 4 then we were all asked to move back to the last 4. In no way was this the drivers fault, who was actually brilliant, as he kept fully informed. Something we as a group suffer from badly, I would say. The result was all off at Bromley South or Bickley as then fast to Sevenoaks! Train was packed.

Then got next FCC from BS to Otford, waited 5 minutes for connection to West Malling. Before 14th December I was home at 16.10 at the latest, got home today at 17.15, so would therefore suggest that I suffered a "journey disbenefit" of one hour five minutes. I have to take into account, that had the Cannon Street trains still been running I would have been able to collect my two daughters at the usual time of 16.10!

My current "journey disbenefit", is therefore averaging over the last three weeks, of anything between 45-65 minutes...!

I note from the new timetable that both ME & WM have in fact lost 6 trains per day (was 43 now 37) which equates to around 15% of the previous capacity - scary! I thought that we were being better served even with the loss of the City services. The reality is that we as an area, have been completely shafted! The 09.02 for example now serves THREE trains worth of passengers - from the 08.52, 09.01 and the 09.10! How can that be allowed to happen?

The two slogans on the SET website, I believe, are completely applicable - "Time for change" and "Make time for the important meetings". I hope that the DfT and SET together with Network Rail, see the errors of their ways, sit down and realise that they have made a huge mistake here, in withdrawing these crucial services to this area. The time will hopefully be up for SET if they don't!

Phil

Phil

01/26/2010 16:04

Dear all

Please check MARUG site for posting by Gemma. She has been told to buy a car and drive 20 miles to get a better train service! Any thoughts on that one? How utterly stupid! No wonder she's upset.

Phil

Gemma Tinton

01/27/2010 02:04

Hi All

Maybe I worded my post a little badly.

In my letter to Chris Mole i stated that I walked to Maidstone East as didn't have a car and live in the town centre.

In the reply from them they suggested i drive the 20 miles up the m20 corridor to sevonaks or orpington for a better service. so although not directly saying "buy a car" I had told them i didn't have a car so this was being indirectly suggested. do they think that everyone has a spare car to drive when they get the train everyday??

This is one of the reason i chose to live in a town so I could have good transport links and not need a car. we don't have parking outside our house and have permitted parking in the town centres which is impossible to get parked in anyway!

I'm happy to send pdf of the letter i received to the Mp's for the area and to marug and mdrta. I will do this tonight. also have been contacted by the downs mail about the letter who i will be contacting today.

Steve Woodcock

01/27/2010 07:52

The performance of South Eastern over the last couple of months has been diabolical. Even taking that away I can't believe what a terrible service we get..... the worst rolling stock, appalling timetable, shocking service, sky high prices, increases at rpi+3% even though we dont benefit from the high speed link. I wrote to them complaining and got a letter back which amongst other excuses said that it was our ancesters fault because of the way they designed where the track went. What?

Their performance pages do seem to be hidden now on their website but you can still link through to them via
www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/index.php/cms/pages/view/593 (not as though I trust them)

A bit off topic but my final grip is with the Kings Hill 123 bus timetable on the return leg in the evening to Kings Hill. Why can't the planners understand that barely anyone ever gets on the bus from the trains arriving from Maidstone at that time? Im fed up of waiting up to 17 minutes for a Maidstone train to arrive only to see no one getting on. The timetable should fit around trains arriving from London and the driver allowed to leave as soon as he thinks everyone on the train has got on the bus.

MARUG link

01/27/2010 09:03

Thanks for the performance pages link, a 54.5% punctuality average and a 97.5% average for P10 is not good at all. Does anyone know if the threshold for discounts applies to one months figures or the whole year?

Daniel Burr

01/27/2010 11:52

I have just noticed the contents of my previous post did not appear. I agree with the sentiment that Southeastern have well and truly shafted Maidstone and Malling commmuters. Fortunately, I only have to make the journey three times a week.

My mind wandered whilst sitting on the excessively long train journey from Victoria to West Malling and I realised the following fact, which illustrates perfectly the abismal service we get on our line. If the train takes one hour, to do what is at most 30 miles, the average speed would be slower than a galloping horse! This is absurd. Then, I timesed out the 2 min stop at Kemsing, and if you get the train twice daily for a working year then you will have waited 24 hrs for the 13,000 people who use this station. This delay is imposed on the c. 3,000,000 commuters from Maidstone and Malling.

Then there is the issue of the rolling stock! Southeastern's own website says that longer journeys outside of london are suited to the 2/2 seated trains with tables. These are provided on the T.Wells-Ton-Sevenoaks line, which is quicker than ours, so where on earth are our comfy trains?

However, I disagree with reinstating the Cannon Street off peak services.... I don't think we should settle for second best. We all know that Maidstone and Malling commuters want all of our trains (or at least half) - off peak AND peak - departing/arriving to City stations! Personally, I don't think we want the old timetable, we want a new one where all the trains run on the Charing X - Ashford route fast to West Malling.

I, as well and many other Maidstone and Malling commuters should not put up with a reduction in services, above inflation ticket price increases paying for a highspeed service which we cannot use. Perhaps we should see if we can kick Southeastern off of the franchise? A Number 10 petition perhaps? (I note in particular, that it only took 4,000 signatures to get the FCC petition on the news)

corncrake

01/29/2010 08:39

Yes I know the service from Maidstone East to London is not that good. However two points to keep in mind. First, Maidstone residents (and indeed most of Kent) voted for rail privatisation. The consequence being that what should be a public service is run by private companies out to make money and return profits to its shareholders. Nothing wrong with that, it’s how the market works, and it generally delivers value for money and customer choice in other industries. But its not compatible with running a public service that we have no alternative other than to use if we work in London.

Second, a few years ago when the high speed link was being planned, Maidstone had the option of a parkway station that would put the town around 20 – 25 minutes away from London. Local Nimbys put pressure on local MPs, Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council to turn it down! The council elections were just a few months away and rather than stand up for the long term and strategic interests of Maidstone, our elected representatives (including one who is prominent in the Keep Our Trains campaign) simply caved in and the station was built at Ebbsfleet instead. The end result is that Maidstone is now further away from London in terms of journey times than Canterbury or Ashford. Thanks guys, very far sighted.

In France politicians are booted out of office if they fail to attract infrastructure investment into their towns and cities. Here in Kent we re-elect them.

Paul McCartney

02/01/2010 06:08

New month new reliability ... no such luck!

Having written to Southeastern last month (with still no reply) over the bad service experienced on this line for the last few months, I was hoping for a real effort from the company this month. Last week alone commuters on the Maidstone East line experienced cancellations, elongated journey times of up to 50%, cramped carriages and filthy and vandalised toilets.

I was overjoyed to see the 06.59 to Bedford was running on time this morning. Even better than that, when I got on the train the heating was working :-)

As we pulled away from Kemsing (about 20 minutes into the 70 minute journey) I felt a shiver run down my spine as the tannoy sprang to life with those dreaded words "Can the conductor contact the driver please?"

Indeed my worst fears were realised when the conductor announced that the train would be terminating at Otford because of a problem with one of the safety systems.

So ... onto a Victoria train at Otford ... only to be delayed again at Swanley because of doors that wouldn't close on the rear carriage ...

Yet again my plan to leave home an hour before I had to was vindicated. My 70 minute journey to work took me 110 minutes this morning thanks to the inefficiencies of Southeastern Trains - perhaps they could learn something from my advanced planning?

Juliet Phillips

02/11/2010 09:39

I was made redundant from my job near Charing Cross at the end of the year, so whilst I was annoyed at the removal of the Charing Cross train, it didn't affect me for long. However, I am now about to turn down a job at London Bridge as there are no services that go there. Only having a train into Victoria is really limiting my ability to find something within a reasonable commuter distance. I can't understand why no-one is listening to us.

Jane

02/17/2010 11:37

What a joke. I am so disappointed and angry at what has happened to my life through no fault of my own since the timetable change.

I moved to West Malling two years ago and checked out the train timetables to ensure I could get to work. Yes, it was a long commute but do-able to live out of London in a nice rural place. Now all that has been totally taken away from me, I have a minimum extra hour and a half travelling a day, and it has had a massive impact on the lives of my family. I am still suffering from post-traumatic shock syndrome from using the tube at Victoria at peak time, what a nightmare, no way I am doing that again!

Like everyone else I am trying all the different options driving to south london - not very environmentally sound is it? At the moment Sevenoaks train station car park is making a fortune out of me. Going to Ebbsfleet is not an option as St Pancras is nowhere near where I work - I work in the CITY (for a charity, not as a rich banker). By the way, did you notice how the HS1 service was kept going in the recent snow?

Nick

02/28/2010 06:24

I have commuted to London from Kent for 24 years and have noticed a steady increase in journey tmes. Whilst the West Malling service was never great at least it was workable and useable. Since the timetable changes my journey to St Pauls has been inpossible from West Malling (a station I can walk to) so I drive to Sevenoaks. I would far rather travel from West Malling and it seems a crazy situation that more amd more commuters are forced to drive to Sevenoaks/Orpington/New Elthan/Sidcup etc just to get a reasonable commute. I wonder how many commuters already did this type of journey and would use West Malling if it had a decent service. This would leave a double benefit of reducing overcrowding at other stations. The waste of it all and the under use of WM station is just criminal. If I were an employer looking to relocate to Kings Hill I would be most concerned about the terrible train connections caused by the recent removal of services.

C Roberts

04/06/2010 06:16

Whilst travelling on any train service is not without drawback due to cancellations, delays etc.
I think this campaign should also not just focus on the reinstatement but the improvement to the previous timetable.

I find it strange that historically, the Maidstone East line is hemmed in between other lines (Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Chatham) yet has not a frequent service into the city.
It is also odd how a service from Paddock Wood (which is a further distance from Central London) is far quicker into London than one from West Malling.

I work with colleagues who live in places such as Cambridge, Harpenden, Hertford and whilst they are not without their travel tales of woe, the journey times are far quicker and services far more frequent than ours.

Actually conveniently for me, as I work in Farringdon, the one and only train to/from Bedford gets me to work and home yet I am constrained by arriving into work at 8.15 and leaving work at 5.30, if the train is cancelled or I miss it, then it is a 27 minute (I have timed it) journey from/to Victoria which requires a change.

For whatever ever reason, Southeastern are pushing Ebbsfleet and the HS1 service (perhaps they secured funding on the basis that it must hit certain passenger targets? I don’t know) and the stock answer from them is to travel to a far away destination, to pay for parking and pay an inflated ticket price to a station that sits on the periphery of Central or the City of London.

Until the result of the General Election is determined, I think it will be a long time before this issue is resolved.

Charlotte Roseman

07/06/2010 05:35

Hi Guys

My husband & I are thinking of relocating to Kings Hill early next year. The biggest deterrent however has been how absolutely shocking the train service is from West Malling to the City - despite all the house brochures promising that we can get to London Blackfriars / Cannon Street / Charing Cross in times of 40+ mins...

Out of interest - how busy is the 0705 train from West Malling to Blackfriars? Do any of you take this route? The only chance of getting my husband to commute this early is if I promise him a seat on the train so he can nap on the way into London! Any advice regarding the likelihood of getting a seat on this train journey would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

PS. I cant believe that they would spend so much money developing a niche commuter area such as Kings Hill - and then remove the possibility of easy commuting! Muppets... Its got to be seriously detrimental to future house sale in the area surely???

Phil Brroks

07/07/2010 02:12

Phil Brooks

07/07/2010 02:28

Many apologies for my last posting above, which went slightly wrong - a bit like our train service really.

Could anyone please explain the rationale behind why someone is now building the third car park at West Malling station? As most commuters would have seen there are always spaces available these days in the main car park. Obviously many are rail-heading to other stations and who can blame them...! Are Southeastern expecting a rush of people to start using the terrible service that we now have to suffer, or are they cutting their losses
for when the Government sells off HS1?

Adam Towers

07/09/2010 05:33

I have recently moved to Kings Hill (June 2010) and was told about the fantastic rail links to the city from reading all the Kings Hill advertising bumf. Unfortunately, I like many others living in Kings Hill / West Malling travel to London each day for my work, most of us heading for London Bridge or Cannon Street station.

The service at West Malling is not usable by any stretch of the imagination, not enough trains, and heading to Victoria which as we all know is well out the way of the city where most people working in London are employed. Therefore I'm now currently having to drive to Hildenborough or Sevenoaks to jump on a train from there. This is VERY frustrating when my local station is within walking distance, AND to add insult to injury use to have a service to London Cannon Street which many people used and relied on.

Please can we get some kind of solution in place ASAP, This has been the only thing which is taking the shine off moving to the area, and will not be a long term sustainable solution.

Andy Boxer

07/20/2010 14:30

I gave up on the service and now drive to Bexley everyday. Driving past th new car park just adds insult to injury. Will South Eastern actually do anything? Any plans have head nothing

Stuart

07/28/2010 09:05

There is a new article on the issue here

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2010/july/28/southeastern_to_be_quizzed.aspx#comments

C Roberts

08/06/2010 05:39

In response to Charlotte Roseman.

Yes you will get a seat on the 0705 from Blackfriars. You will however have to probably get the return journey from City Thameslink to avoid standing until Bromley South.

Faye Brislen

10/07/2010 02:41

After a good summer on my motorbike, I am finding the wet weather is pushing me back on to the train more.

As I work in the City, I am still driving my car to Mottingham Station to get a direct service to Cannon Street.

OK, so its saves me a great deal of money, but I should not have to drive a 40 mile round trip to get a decent train to work when the West Malling line could go to the City quite easily.

Come on Southeasten, stop being greedy and lets see some social responsibility!!!

Phil Brooks

11/04/2010 03:51

A good article in The Standard. It's nice to know that Felipe and Sir John are still fighting the cause, not only on fare increases but also on trying to achieve the impossible and get the fast services back into the City.

I note on the SE website that the tweakers who instigate minor changes to the December timetable, have once again put another nail in the coffin of the Maidstone/Malling commuter. The 6.09 Bearsted to Bedford service (which is a really great train) and has got increasingly more busy over time, will be started from Ashford on 13th December. This change means that from there, it will be stopping at an additional 4 stations before Bearsted to continue on the existing route. I would presume therefore that this means that this great and reliable service is about to become somewhat busier!

I fear for the commuters who get on this train at Swanley and Bromley South because I can see their seats disappearing rapidly, with the extra passengers that will be getting on this service from the extra stops further up the line. Standing room only prevails for these passengers!

One other thing that is slightly worrying is that during the infamous snow days earlier in the year, the 6.09 from Bearsted invariably got through to London, whereas the Victoria services, starting from Ashford tended to get "snowed in" leading to a general/dismal lack of trains. When this "new" service starts from Ashford I fear for the dreaded "S" word - SNOW and what it will do to this train.

harryK

11/20/2010 09:09

I would like to encourage people to use the new STATION CAR PARK that has recently opened. It is fantastic and just what commuters wanted. It is easily accessed off the bypass without running the risk of getting stopped by the POLICE. It is very brightly lit with CCTV, easy payment options online ( look how much of a bargain the online prices are compared to the others ) and staffed by very friendly and helpful chaps who are there from 5.30 am !! ....... they even offered to change my flat tyre !!

James Steers

11/20/2010 09:24

I went to the recent rail forum and was most surprised by the view taken by Southeastern. They are clearly looking to extort more Government subsidy to reinstate our City trains. I hope Sir John is successful in stripping them of the franchise...... a colleague of mine mentioned that Southeastern were after about £650k per annum to reinstate the City trains. Why oh why don't Kent County Council and Liberty Trust ( joint owners of Kings Hill ) make that payment...... it is a fraction of an acre of development land at Kings Hill.... a surveyor friend of mine suggested this would be a small price to pay as they ran the risk of losing major tenants which would cost them millions...... this may be a SOLUTION ?????

Yvonne Edwards

11/21/2010 07:02

I note with interest the latest postings to this site.

Firstly, I believe there is mileage in pressuring Kent County Council and Liberty Property Trust into paying for the superior train service we require. After all they have been selling development land at Kings Hill for years at inflated levels. They tell us the future growth of the Kings Hill scheme is being hindered by the reduction is a quality city train service, they should now step up to the plate. I believe Southeastern are playing a futile game but are likely to get what they want.

Secondly, I am using the NEW Station car park that has recently opened. It is a fantastic facility, safe and well lit. I spoke to the staff on site who were very helpful and advised that season ticket sales have been very strong, especially quarterly & annuals..... they are not linked to Southeastern and that is the reason why WE SHOULD ALL use it !!

11/25/2010 09:28

Hello. I am relocating to Sevenoaks, does anyone commute from Sevenoaks to Charing cross, are the commuter time trains horribly busy or will I get a seat?
I know this is a Malling district site but you all seem to know your stuff when it come to commuting and would appreciate the advice. Thank you.

Brett Chambers

11/26/2010 10:15

Hi everyone......

I see that Sir John Stanley has made some very good progress in getting Government to reinstate the needed City Trains.... it all looks hopeful ! I just hope Southeastern are forced to deliver what is needed.

I too now use the excellent new car park, operated by Kenden Parking, at West Malling Station. The customer service is second to none and they have built a highly specified, well illuminated and SAFE car park for us all. I would strongly encourage others to use it as drivng down the bus lane has become too risky.

Molly Ambleside

11/26/2010 10:22

Can anyone help please........

I have just moved to Kings Hill and will be using the train to Victoria daily from next week........ can anyone recommend which car park I should use at West Malling railway station as I have heard stories of the Police prosecuting people from Kings Hill ?????

Any help most welcomed.... Thanks

Molly

11/29/2010 06:39

Hi Molly

Use the New Car Park as is so much cheaper for monthly tickets or longer - works out about £3 a week more expensive that getting the bus and takes 1/5 of the time. Also you dont have to go through the bus lane althogh i understood it was fine to do so if only going to the car park - The idea was to stop people skipping through to west malling and causing congestion there. Not a good week to start after the diaster this morning with the 1mm of snow we had - no trains from 7-9

James Trench

11/30/2010 09:53

Southeastern have covered themselves in glory once again...... shambolic services from the company that cares. Their website stated all services were running to schedule this morning. I get to the station to find it was anything but.

The only shining example of customer service was at the new station car park. Those guys were out gritting the car park until late last night and before we all arrived this morning. A shining example of how things should be done !!! Southeastern take note.

My season tickets will now be purchased from Kenden Parking. Well done to you !

Dom Stevens

12/01/2010 07:40

Good afternoon all

I have now been unable to get to work for 3 days now. Southeatern are a complete joke and their website is as innacurate and misleading as they are incompetent.

I agree with previous postings to this site that the only Professional and customer savvy outfit I have encountered is the new station car park.... I talked to one of them this morning and they had been there from 4am ensuring the car park was open. It is a shame Southeastern let them down as well. Bye for now

Hayley Masters

12/01/2010 07:45

Where should I start...... another day of train chaos and complete disregard towards us shown by Southeastern. Sir John Stanley has them firmly in his sights and hope they lose their franchise.......

At least the new car park was open. I see a lot of people are using it now and rightly so. Great customer service and very attentive.

Peter Spelman

12/01/2010 11:51

Wow...... can this week get any worse.
Southeastern are without doubt wholly inept. I understand there are going to be problems and fully accept it. Why oh why can't they effectively communicate problems to us. The website is useless and this is only matched by the people they employ. Complete shower....

I see there are lots of postings about the new car park that has recently opened. When my annual season expires in Southeastern's car park I will be signing up with Kenden Parking..... NOT ONLY do they appear to care by keeping their car park open ,they charge a lot less and I do not then run the risk of getting fined by the Police as a friend of mine was over the summer......

Phil Brooks

12/02/2010 11:58

What a joke yet again. What a way to run a train set...!

I'm really pleased that most seem happy with the new car park - that's great, but surely what we need, once you've parked the car, is a train!

Information over the last three days has been dire and the performance figures (before the snow) for November were shocking, for some days ranging in the 40 per cents.

Nuff said

Phil

Maggie James

12/03/2010 05:05

The level of customer care shown by Southeastern is totally unacceptable. I was stuck on a homeward bound train to West Malling. There was no communication from staff and even the website stated the service was running to timetable. It took me 8 hours to get home in the end as I called a friend to come and save me.

When i got back those helpful people in the new car park assisted me in de-icing my car. I have never encountered such help in a car park. I notice they have had a snow plough clearing it ready for us to use on Monday. It is such a shame all of their hard work has been ruined by a poor train provider.

Best Wishes to all

Peter Stevens

12/03/2010 06:34

Well, where do I start?
Tuesday - caught the late running Bedford-Ashford train home (the only direct train to Kent from London being advertised). Only just caught it due to overcrowding at City Thameslink. Got dumped at Otford to connect with the shuttle train between Swanley & Ashford (did it ever exist?). Taxi driver got cold feet at Seal and said he wasn't happy going further. Walked with a colleague as far as Ightham before some kind people rescued us.
Wednesday - left at one and headed to Victoria. Only train running was to Orpington although staff at Victoria said Sevenoaks trains were running out of City Thameslink - guess what? No chance. Bromley station staff admitted website was a joke, and that Victoria had been fobbing passengers off all morning. Got taxi driver to run us home - £100 later...
Strange I saw a steam train at Victoria on Wednesday going to Bristol. I bet that got there.

Mike Jones

12/03/2010 07:23

I appreciate we get bad weather in this country. There is absolutley no excuse for the complete contempt shown to customers by Southeastern.

The website is dangerously misleading. My wife went to catch a train on Tuesday as the website, enthusiastically endorsed by service delivery Director Vince Lucas as state of the art, said services were running normally. She was so nearly abandoned at Swanley and Otford as other passengers were and being left to fend for themselves !!! Go to their live running page now and you will see that conflciting information is still being given out.

No communication or subsequent explanations at all. They say they will learn from their mistakes.... NO, this is not acceptable at all. They need to be shown the "door".

How much longer do we have to put up with a wholly incompetent Southeastern ?

Tony Williams

12/03/2010 11:34

Bought a weekly travel card on Monday morning whilst the Bedford train was still advertised as running, albiet 35 mins. late. Silly me it got cancelled along with all the Victoria trains on the board 10mins. later. So I only traveled to London on Tuesday getting home by the skin of my teeth on the shuttle from Swanley; I didn't think it was worth the effort to try the rest of the week based after last Januarys performance.

Any chance of getting a rebate on my ticket?

Paul Lavender

12/03/2010 11:49

I only mannaged to get to work once this week. The Southeastern website was a farce and the monitors at the station can not be believed. I felt really let down. I am now going to progress a refund as it is not acceptable.

I feel sorry for the chap who makes the coffee and the gents in the new car park, they all know what service is ! I wish they could all take over from Southeastern, frankly it could not get any worse.

Glentanar

12/04/2010 10:08

Except for a one individual who works in the ticket office at west Malling in my experience Southeastern are the most incompetent, lazy, uncommitted, devious, jobsworth bunch of ARSEHOLES it has ever been my misfortune to handover money to. And the higher up the tree you go the worse it gets.

Govia's franchise should be revoked

Terence Jacoby

12/04/2010 12:35

This week has been a master class in how to alienate customers. Southeastern are no doubt going to pay the price at the hands of our loyal and hard working MP, Sir John Stanley.

Did you know the only reason why the Medway Towns have Cannon Street service that was NOT included within the franchise agreement ? Answer, there was a Labour MP in the Medway Towns that struck a deal with Southeastern and the then Labour Transport Minister, vote getting stuff eh.

Hope we all get on better this week.

I have noticed the new station car park has been cleared of snow and gritted for Monday morning, what service that is for us all. If only they run the train service instead of Southeastern!

Heidi James

12/05/2010 12:37

I felt compelled to air my annoyance at the way Southeastern has behaved this week. I am self empployed and as a result have not been paid for 4 days this last week due to the train problems. I would not have minded that much BUT the level of customer communication via website or other was non existent. Many of my friends suffered badly this week as well.

I have just started using the NEW station car park. What a revelation that has been, the spaces are larger,circulation area much better, it is illuminated all night and has CCTV. The service is second to none and I do not have to run the risk of getting stopped by the police again driving illegally down the bus lane. The other car parks are tired and rip off prices !! Well done to them.

Jimmy Holden

12/05/2010 12:39

Southeastern should be immediately stripped of their franchise. They are only interested in their own financial well being.

12/06/2010 06:30

Just read the compensation Policy, after the last weeks shambles i expect 5% of 10% discount on my next ticket- whats the betting they somehow manage to meet their performace targets like they do each month. also as far as i can see no trains running from City Thameslink direct or even to Bromley until further notice so now have to go across town to victoria or go down to Herne Hill and back up again !!!

Natasha Antoine

12/06/2010 12:17

Looks like Southeastern are going to get away with their antics last week.

Did anyone see the new car park today, they had it snow ploughed and gritted ready for use this morning. I do not know how they do it for the very reasonable charges they make. I have just bought a 1 year ticket and saved £300 !

Scott Barton

12/06/2010 16:01

When the snow started to fall last week I decided not to even bother wth the trains from my station at East Malling. I have that much confidence in SouthEastern!
This morning i decided to travel as normal, the 0736 was on time, but nearly broke my neck going up the icy steps! Both sides are totally treacherous, surely the station manager (from West Malling i believe) should take responsibility for this??? Have taken pics and sent. My annual season ticket price is a joke!
I am seriously considering going back on the road and driving half way into London.

Jessica Wright

12/07/2010 11:33

Hi Scott

I used to go from East Malling but now the new Kenden car park is open at WEST MALLING I go from there now. You are one stop closer to London, can purchase a coffee and have a huge new car park to use. Much easier, just need a better train service now !

Karen Harding

12/08/2010 06:44

Me and my husband have only lived in Borough Green for the last six months. We bought a house within walking distance of the station and although the service to the City is non-existent (I don't call one train in the morning at 7.13 and one back in the evening at 5.45 a "service")by and large the commute is copeable with. Except for last week that is.

Let's be honest, we couldn't get that amount of snow and not expect some disruption but never in our wildest dreams did we expect that South Eastern would fail so miserably, starting with being unceremoniously dumped off at Otford last Tuesday night because the solitary Ashford train running from City Thameslink "didn't have a conductor. We were left cold and anxious on a platform with absolutely no information from anyone about whether we could expect the mysterious "shuttle" service from Bromley. Basically SE didn't give a monkeys how people got home, so long as it didn't involve them. It was only the combination of a lone train heading to Sevenoaks and the kindness of a fellow commuter who arranged for his wife to drive from West Malling to collect him from Bat & Ball, and offered me and my husband a lift, meant that we eventually arrived home at 9pm.

Wednesday, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time - managed to get a train from BG up at 07.30 to Victoria and one home about 16.40 that miraculously came all the way down the line. That, then, was it - no trains at all until Sunday morning when SE were allegedly running a "normal" service. Was it coincidence that the day before Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, had said that the objective was to get all the train companies running a normal service on Sunday. I suspect that if he hadn't had said that SE would still be making excuses and reluctantly running their so-called Contingency Timetable.

We can only hope that SE have really blotted their copybook this time. We are in the 21st century, we are part of the largest commuting region in the country and yet have to put up with the worse sub-standard third world rail service, and they have the cheek to say that they are going to put the fares up in January. There has been a distinct lack of comment from the Managing Director, Charles Horton, and it seems that his lackeys are left to do his donkey work and mouth platitudes and apologies on various press interviews. We can only urge our MP, Sir John Stanley, and anyone else who is influential and will listen that a new operator is needed immediately, and that under no circumstances should SE have their franchise renewed.

And they reckon we might get more snow next week......

Phil Leaver

12/08/2010 11:12

I am disgusted with the Service provided by Southeastern. Little or no compassion shown towards us and they make it show.

I have no alternative than using them at present.

The only pleasurable part of my commuting is the coffee bar and NEW STATION CAR PARK operators, we have a bit of banter in the morning which is great.

John Hartswood

12/09/2010 11:39

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can Southeastern be replaced with a competent operator.

I hope Sir John Stanley MP is successful in reinstating the Cannon Street service commencing May 2011 !

CRaig S

12/10/2010 01:07

Although Southeastern havent got the guts to advertise the season ticket price for 2011 yet, it can be seen on National Rails Website.

Annual Season ticket (inl. Travel Card) will be £4088. An increase of £432 (11.81%)

As I wont be getting a pay rise at work this year, thanks Southeastern for lowing my standard of living even more.

Isi Corchione

12/11/2010 10:07

I am deeply irriated that Southeastern are increasing train fares.Frankly there is little we can do OTHER than spend our car parking money at the new station car park, at least it gives us the satisfaction of not paying them more than we have to.

Phil Brooks

12/11/2010 14:01

Phil Brooks

12/11/2010 15:41

An absolutely shocking week, last week! Managed to get in to work and actually get home on Tuesday. Many didn't do so well, as most are fully aware.

The "new live line running tool" on the first page of the SET website, as mastered/voiced by Vince Lucas (so I understand) was utterly useless. I'm sure that most commuters know, that if we have snow flake on the line we have a problem.

Heard many horror stories about the drop off at Otford (on Tuesday) with no conductor, with waits of up to 7 (yes seven!) hours. Is that really fair?

The "tool" and the live running info available from West Malling on Wednesday through to Friday, was not only completely misleading but utterly appalling. The website on the first two days was a joke. That's why so many people turned up! By Friday, I think most had given up and right so. The first train I heard go through the West Malling area, was on Saturday afternoon!

I didn't do too well yesterday (Friday 10th December) either, like so many others. Got the FCC from City Thameslink at 15.09 (on time) got to Otford (on time) to be told that the Ashford service was delayed. This then changed (of course) to Cancelled. No Information once again!
At West Malling, about 200+ passengers got off - not bad for what would be classed an off peak service, with 4 carriages.

For a journey that used to take 40 minutes, "back in the good old Cannon Street Days", this is a complete step back to stone age times!

I have a question to end on. Who compiles the figures on punctuality and reliability for SET? Mickey Mouse perhaps! There is absolutely no way that they have got near their targets as set by the DofT. Please look at the figures for November. Nothing really happened then but the shocking statistics show as low as 40 odd %, for some days.

I will be writing to the Transport Secretary, Sir John Stanley and other parties over the next few days.

Compensation should have been offered back in December/January for the terrible service (and lack of information) given then. We step forward 10/11 months and have even less information on which we can depend on.

Upcoming rail fare increases are an absolute joke and should be reversed. SET made an operating profit (so I hear) of £57M but still asked, the then Labour Government, for a subsidy of £27M back in the summer.

We now have a possible ballot by SET staff (in the New Year) on job security for strike action. Great! But who can really blame the staff for this. If the commuters are treated so badly on a dayly basis, then the staff obviously suffer too!

On a lighter note, having used this network for in excess of 15 years, I can safely say that this is the worse service I have ever had to put up with. And, Connex is included in this.

Regards

Phil

AM link

12/12/2010 07:16

I renew my ticket monthly and have just seen the staggering price rise for a train only ticket to london

£300.30 to £336 Almost 12%- that is disgraceful

Out of interest I looked up a couple of colleagues price hikes, rails tickets costs and distances from their London Terminal ( West Malling is 32.5 miles away)

Chelmsford to London on National Express

Cost £299 per month to £313. Rise of just under 5% and 40 miles away

East Grinstead to London on Southern

£192 per month to £207 per month so a rise of 7.5% and 46 miles away

yes a staggering £127 a month cheaper yet its further away

We currently pay more per month than someone travelling into London from Brighton over 55 miles away

WE ARE BEING RIPPED OFF

John Buckwell

12/12/2010 10:41

Have you seen the price increases Southeastern are imposing. It is absolutely impossible to understand how they get away with this. The Labour Government did us no favours.

Come on Sir John, sort this out please.

Karen Harding

12/13/2010 01:20

I just thought I would check the SE website for the Xmas/New Year running info. I see that they are running a Saturday service (which means 2 trains an hour on the West Malling/Borough Green line). All well and good I thought. Then I saw this little snippet underneath the timetable...

"Please note, the days between Christmas and New Year are classed as normal working days, therefore normal peak and off-peak restrictions will apply between Monday 27 and Friday 31 December"

So not content with their abject failure over the last week to provide any kind of decent service and to nevertheless hike the fares up to unprecedented levels whilst everyone is battling with increased costs and no pay rises, in SE Land they feel that it is acceptable for them to run an off-peak service on "normal working days" and for anyone using it (going to work, out for a bit of sales shopping or visting friends and family)to pay "normal" fares.

You can only feel that the lunatics have truly taken over the Asylum.

On a separate note, I was heartened to read in the local paper at the weekend that there may be a reintroduction of the City services on our line. Fingers crossed not only will this be the case, but that SE will be immediately stripped of their franchise and the service will be run by a decent TOC who realise that they should be providing a service to their customers, rather than the existing incumbents who seem intent on robbing us blind.

Craig S

12/13/2010 04:49

AM

The reason they can jack the tickets up is due to the small print in the franchise agreement, so they are within their contractural right to do so.

My understaning is that Southeastern were allowed to increase the fare over and above the other train operating companies to pay for the HS1 link.....well suited to West Malling.

I would however say I overheard a rumour the other day that Maidstone was originally offered the HS1 route in the initial consultation process however due to nimbyism (fast trains running near houses, increased traffic into Maidstone etc..) it was out right rejected.....can anone back up this rumour??

Stuart Bates

12/14/2010 02:33

Not sure how to describe this mornings journey to work. The 7:44 from Maidstone had been cancelled, although it was sitting at the station. No announcements were being made, then evenyone on the train was asked to get off. Apparantly there had been a fire, then no power and then the line had cracked, I think they were just covering all the bases.

We were then told to either get the train from Madstone East to Ashford or from Maidstone Barracks to Strood and change to the fast service to St Pancreas. Fair enough, 100 or so people crammed into the train to Strood and got on the fast train, no problem.

Then at Gravesend we were told that our tickets would not be valid and that we had to get off and change to the regular service. I would like to know what happened to the those braver than I that stayed to argue with the St Pancreas ticket officers, I changed for a train to Charing Cross. This lasted for about 2 stops when we were told that that train was now being diverted but we could change to a train going to Victoria.

Most of these problems seem to be a complete lack of communication. Why didn't the staff at Maidstone know what had happened further up the line, and why were we told that the train to St. Pancreas would be covered by our ticket when it wasn't.

Can't wait for the snow at the end of the week!!!!!!

Macca

12/14/2010 03:06

Like Stuart, my journey was disrupted this morning. I arrived at Barming at 06.55 and immediately knew there was a problem owning to the number of people on the platform.

Whilst I understand there are problems with the infrastructure in the South East, Southestern make things worse by not communication to their passengers or their staff.

We were initially told it was a lineside fire which should be dealt with fairly quickly. 45 minutes later we were told it was due to a power supply problem.

I eventually got the 09:04 from Maidstone Barracks and changed at Strood where I got the fast service.

The ticket collector didn't seem to know what the situation was with tickets and suggested we explain the situation at the gate st Kings Cross. There was actually no need to do this as we were let through en-masse.

Southeastern should as a matter of course allow ticket holders who have been delayed the ability to use the fast service at no extra cost.

Even if I'd got straight on the train from Barming at 08.35 - I still wasn't into London Victoria until 10.16 - not exactly a fast journey!

Sammy Knowles

12/16/2010 02:29

The POLICE were at West Malling station yesterday STOPPING cars going down the bus lane. I spoke to them and they confirmed they are now going to seriously clamp down on cars going down the bus lane to the station building.

They will shortly start covert operations and will issue £60 fines and 3 penalty points.

We have all been warned. Their advice for people wanting to park is use the NEW STATION CAR PARK OR driver through West Malling to access other car parks.

John Hobday

12/16/2010 03:40

WARNING.

The Police were at West Malling Station at 6am yesterday. They are now going to stop people driving down the bus lane as a result of near accidents with buses.

Apparently 3 penalty points and £60 fine if you are caught.

Andrew

12/16/2010 05:46

yes saw the police yesterday so had to make a quick divert to the new car park

nice to see they are using their time effectively!!!

had so cash no me so was using the pay on exit one after cancelling my Meteor Permit ( combination on price, relationship to S Eastern,lack of gritting and no use over xmas and new year)

Guy @ Kenden said park up and once you are at work purchase your ticket online and i can backdate it for you. This morning as i pulled in he was there waiting with my new ticket thanking me for my business.

no risk of fine, excellent new floodlit parking and prices that are not much more expensive than the Bus ( plus i dont have to leave half an hour earlier each day.

Phil Brooks

12/16/2010 15:43

I feel sorry tonight (Thursday), for the possible Christmas party go-ers, that won't be home until the early hours. Have just seen the last two trains from Victoria back to WM cancelled. They're going via Tonbridge. I just hope they've had plenty to drink to help them on their way, after another woeful week of travel.

I'm thinking fire at WM Tuesday morning,(all diverted and cancelled for 3 hours), bridge strike at Bickley etc. plus extended wait at Otford last Friday for about an hour, with once again zero communication, because of a broken down train at Bromley South. The lack of info has seriously let SET down BIG TIME. Let's hope that once they are removed (SET), we can all have a really great train service that reflects the obvious customer statisfaction shown, by the commuters who park in the new car park at WM.

A friend of mine was stuck at Otford, waiting to go just two stops back to WM on the Tuesday when the snow struck, for 7 hours. No info or alternative way home, other than a 4x4 lift from a friend at midnight! Is that really right.

If it was a wounded dog, you'd have it put down. I think you know where I'm coming from.

SET couldn't run a bath, let alone a train set!

Noticed that the figure for getting back the fast City service had also risen recently from £637K to £675K. Is that down to inflation or greed? I wonder?

Good luck to everyone over the build up (of snow probably) to Christmas, by the way - we may all well need it!

Nicola C

12/17/2010 05:56

Two major delays to services in one week is good going even my south eastern standards. Tuesday morning no services into London during rush hour due to a fire on the line. Last night both late night services from Victoria to Ashford from 10-12pm cancelled during to a broken down train at Lenham. No informed SE staff at victoria, no information on the likelihood of running the final train out of victoria, no knowledge by SE staff of compensation policies and refunds for expensive taxi journey's from other stations in kent, no contigency planning to get another crew other than the one stuck on the train at Lenham (apparently you need crew who know the route to Kent!!!!),no alternative route suggestions (other than incorrect ones), no assistance with over-crowded trains of people trying to get to Bromley and unable to board alternative trains. Couple that with the recent farcical attempts at running anything remotely resembling a train service during the 'unusually' poor weather and you can see why South Eastern are justified in charging their exorbitant season ticket prices (with up to 13% increase next year). Privatisation, competion driving improvement - yeah right!

Michelle Yalbanis

12/17/2010 11:24

Very positive news about the City Trains coming back. I do hope it happens soon !

John Jameson

12/22/2010 02:00

Southeastern are a joke.

I do not want to give any more business to them than I have to.

I have now bought an annual season ticket at the new Kenden Car Park at West Malling Station. I agree with other comments that they know what customer service is. I would much rather pay good money to people that deserve it !

I would urge others to do the same.

Nat Stevens

12/22/2010 09:53

I strongly endorse the previous comment.

Why pay Southeastern any more than we have to. The service and associated lack of communication stinks.

I am more than happy spending my hard earnt money elsewhere. The Kenden parking chaps that run the new station car park know what service is about.

Alison J

01/08/2011 03:50

I feel compelled to write about the recent article in the Kent Messenger. As a frequesnt commuter,I am most upset about Southeastern putting up the rail fares, my salary,like many of my friends, is frozen.

The paper states that car parking is also at an all time high at West Malling station. NOT TRUE, do what I and my friends are doing, buy a season ticket at the New Station Car Park. I saved over £250 ! compared to Southeastern. I also get the satisfaction of not paying any more than I have to towards the Sotueastern !

I do hope the train operator is changed shortly

Annie Chaytor

01/08/2011 03:58

The Police were at the Bus Lane at West Malling Station again. Lucky I saw them in time and made a quick divert into the new car park.

I spoke to the Police and they told me they have had a lot of complaints about dangerous driving and near accidents with buses.

I think the days of driving down the bus lane are over. I have given in and bought a 6 month ticket from the Kenden car park. I was AMAZED to see how cheap they are. The car park has 24 hour floodlights and i feel safe walking back at night. As they made a huge effort clearing the recent snow, i feel it is a good idea to support a local business as opposed to the money grabbing southeastern, who treat us all with contempt.

Annie

Hamish M

01/08/2011 09:15

I fully endorse the recent postings to the site.

Southeastern are a shower. Don't give your hard earnt to them for parking as well. There is a much better alternative. I have purchased an annual ticket from Kenden Parking and saved a LOT of money !

Gemma T

01/10/2011 01:39

Did anyone have any luck claiming refunds for their tickets in the snow chaos? Also does anyone have the link for the story in the paper about the city service potentially returning in May? how likely is this? I cannot continue with the current service which is made even harder to take by the recent 13% increase

Annabel F

01/10/2011 08:55

Gemma

As Southeastern managed to manipulate the figures there are no refunds.

I have seen a letter from Sir John Stanley saying the City Trains will be reinstated but timing is an issue. We should hear in February, fingers crossed !

If you travel regularly to London join the crusade and steer clear of Southeastern for your car parking.They do not deserve it ! Try the new station car park if you have not tried it already, it is on less thing to worry about on the commute.

Sally Henderson

01/12/2011 08:12

Thank you to those people on this site that have recommended the new Station Car Park operatoed by Kenden Parking

I have saved myself hundreds of pounds on a season ticket !

Thanks

Sally

Craig S

01/16/2011 10:18

After writing a complaint letter to Southeastern regarding the chaos caused by the snow, I received a reply with the stock response of snow on the rail blah blah network rail maintains the tracks blah blah government set the franchIse requirements blah blah. I also recieved as a gesture of goodwill £30 of M&S vouchers.

I would much prefer a 5% discount on my annual ticket and an increased and reliable service.

MALLING CHRONICLE link

01/24/2011 09:09

Latest news from Sir John Stanley - there is to be no public consultation into whether or not Southeastern get the two-year extention. All views and commuters' stories welsome.

01732 228030
keith.fairbank@sevenoaks-chronicle.co.uk

Phil Brooks

01/27/2011 04:39

Another stress free start to the year -not, what with the abysmal journeys to and from work every day. And, that's not even mentioning the fare increases!

So far this year we've had the usual bridge strikes, broken down trains, someone trying to commit suicide at Swanley etc. Every day something new happens on the Maidstone East line, which just adds to the daily travel nightmare.

Take last week, on Tuesday (18th) we had points or signal failure at Borough Green. All trains from about 11.30AM were diverted via Paddock Wood. Not a great place to get back to west Malling from. Managed to get home at 4.30PM after leaving London at 1.00PM, so 3 hours that day.

On Wednesday 19th, we had the same kind of thing again, due to the landslip at Bearsted. Left work early 1.30PM (just to make sure I got home that day) got to Otford, where there was to be a bus service laid on. There was indeed a coach waiting there at 2.30PM but the driver had at that point had been told to go home, as trains were then running through to WM & ME. Unfortunately, the next train had already been cancelled, so then had to wait for the next one...! That same day there were cancellations etc. in the afternoon and evening, due to a train fault too, also at BG.

Moving forward to this week, we had the fire in the morning that affected most services, what with the diversions etc. And yesterday evening, from about 5.30PM it would appear as though most people were stuck everywhere else except for home. I noted that the first train through from Victoria to WM was at about 10 o'clock. Again they were all going via Sevenoaks and Paddock Wood. Terrible service once again and that's without the help of snow.

Would like to sign off by mentioning the excellent blog/website - "Southeastern - a commuters blog" which is posted by Gary Williams. It really is a great site, very current, witty and informative. It's well worth having a look at, if you really want to know what's happening, on a daily/weekly basis, to our dire services.

Well done to Sir John and the other MPs at Westminster last week, another great performance. Let's hope that next weeks debate goes well too.

Regards

Phil Brooks

Jane Holmes

02/08/2011 08:46

WARNING WARNING WARNING The Police today stopped my Daughter driving down the bus lane at West Malling Station and FINED her. Please pass on the warning as they are increasing their patrols to curb the rat running. JH

Julia P

02/09/2011 07:28

Thanks for the warning.By coincidence I was also there at the time.

I saw someone in a Blue Quashqai drive down the bus lane, if he had done so a minute earlier he would have been stopped & fined as well !

Thanks

02/11/2011 17:37

that was probably me then and only done so as kenden ticket expired and only needed day plus had no cash on me, thought the idea of the bus lane was to stop people cutting through to west malling but to go to the other car parks would have to do exactly that

looks like i got lucky

Lesley Ann James

02/12/2011 06:32

I was stopped and warned by the police for using the bus lane at west malling station. I have got to the bottom of this now. The bus lane is ONLY for buses and taxis. ALL private vehicles must use the drop off point ( if they have passengers to drop off ) OR park at the new kenden car park if they wish to stay. Apparently the Police are going to really crack down on this as there have been lots of complaints. The ONLY LEGAL way of driving to the station forecourt or using the other car parks is to drive through West Malling Village. Why would you want to do that when there is a new safe and well light facility.

I had the problem of leaving home with no money and drove into the kenden car park. They were so helpful and let me buy a ticket on line when I got to work and backdated it for me. To be honest why would anyone use the Southeastern car park ( poor quality, overpriced and operated by the money grabbing southeastern ) OR the other small & cramped private car park operated by the "old scrooge" who locks you in and makes you pay extra if you dare leave your car for a minute over time.

I treated myself to an annual ticket ( saving £360 ) at the new Kenden car park. I now look forward to an improved train service !

LAJ

Gemma T

02/16/2011 05:11

Is there any update on what services to the city may be available on the May timetable yet? I have read on the internet that HS1 is planned to start from Maidstone West. Does this mean no return of the city service on maidstone east line?

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02/16/2011 05:51

There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say, Yes, I've got dreams, of course I've got dreams. Then they put the box away and bring it out once in awhile to look in it, and yep, they're still there. Do you think so?

Steve P

02/17/2011 12:16

The update on the City Trains is due now....... keep your fingers crossed.

Angela Hardy

02/23/2011 04:30

Hi All

I wanted to bring a number of matters to the attention of fellow commuters.

1. Train Service

We all agree that Southeastern is a most shambolic franchisee with a blatant disregard to its customers.The only way it could potentially engage with its customers is by reinstating the City trains. That would be the first move of many they would have to make. I have lobbied hard to get this completed. I have heard that the very LATEST this could happen is April 2012. We want the service up and running May 2011.We must keep lobbying hard.

2. Car Parking

What a relief it is to have the new Kenden Car Park. It is a great facility for all of us. Top quality and run with an eye for customer service and affordability. The personal service is the best I have encountered. I suggest not using the Southeastern car park as you are giving more money to the train company. I purchased a six monthly ticket on line and saved a lot of money. I often return late at night and it is superb to have floodlighting and CCTV on all night.....

Thanks all

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03/09/2011 15:08

Education really makes out future better at the end of the railroads we make things more abundant.

Huw Whitethread

03/22/2011 10:44

Some good news from Southeastern for a change about the High Speed rail link being extended to Maidstone West. This should make journey times into Cannon Street and London Bridge approx. 76 mins and 80 mins respectively which is a massive improvement on the Victoria trains, but here's the info anyway:

Southeastern May 2011 Timetable Changes
There are two main themes to the Southeastern May 2011 timetable change.

The first is the expansion of the High Speed network providing a service from Maidstone West to and from London St Pancras during the morning and evening peak in a journey time of approximately 50 minutes.

The second theme is to improve the performance of the timetable through a range of initiatives, such as providing longer station dwell times, increasing the margin between trains and altering the destination of trains to avoid conflicting moves or bunching or trains. The end result of this is that some trains may have a slightly extended journey time and in some cases will start earlier than now.

Below is a summary of the principle alterations:

Monday to Friday – High Speed
High Speed services will be introduced to Maidstone West during the morning & evening peak. The existing St Pancras to Rochester / Faversham & vv peak time services will be diverted to Maidstone West running non stop between Strood & Maidstone West.

The Maidstone West services will run in the current timings of the existing Rochester to St Pancras and vv between St Pancras & Strood:

1. 0707 Rochester to St Pancras will start back from Maidstone West at 0656

2. 0735 Rochester to St Pancras will start back from Maidstone West at 0726

3. 0807 Rochester to St Pancras will start back from Maidstone West at 0756

4. 0625 St Pancras to Rochester is diverted to Maidstone West arriving at 0712

5. 1714 St Pancras to Rochester is diverted to Maidstone West arr 1802

6. 1744 St Pancras to Faversham is diverted to Maidstone West arr 1832

7. 1814 St Pancras to Faversham is diverted to Maidstone West arr 1905

8. 1858 Faversham to St Pancras will start back from Maidstone West at 1913

The Maidstone West High Speed services will be formed of 6 cars

Jane R

03/22/2011 12:55

Hi

How on earth do you conclude this is a positive step ? The majority of Malling commuters want City Trains from West Malling to the City, not a drive into Maidstone, no where to park and then catch a train that delivers you in North London.

This is a pointless and somewhat contrived offering that I for one do not accept.

I have been fighting hard with the MP and train company to deliver what we want, MDRTA are doing the same and should not be bought off with this token.

I am sorry if it appears unkind but the only person who is going to benfit from this service is VINCE LUCAS who lives in Maidstone and commutes to North London. What a surprise !

Bill Reeves

03/22/2011 12:58

Good Evening

This nonense about the high speed link from Maidstone does not benefit City commuters. WE catch the morning service from West Malling which gets us to work quicker than the high speed train possibly could.

I agree that the fight for City Trains from West Malling to Cannon Street must go on, do not be distracted

Fay

03/22/2011 13:12

Do not be distracted by the news of a trial of HS1. It is a diversionary tactic, ill conceived and pointless.The current service to the city from West Malling is not great but it is QUICKER ! I am not sure you are on the same train service.

Keep fighting for the better services from WEST MALLING. I am not going to drive from Kings Hill to Maidstone. Especially when i have just bought an annual season ticket at the excellent new Kenden Car park.

Steve P

03/26/2011 02:04

I agree with previous postings. We should continue to fight for more city trains from west malling.

I live at kings hill and do not want to drive further than west malling to catch london trains. with the excellent new kenden car park I now have confidence of securely parking for little more cost than catching a bus. I see many comments regarding the new car park and have to agree that the service provided is extremely good. Given the police are fining people for driving down the bus lane this new car park ticks all the boxes. like many others I bought a six month season ticket and saved a lot of money.

I just hope the enhanced train services are not far away.

keep going mdrta

Craig S

03/28/2011 06:12

HS Offering as others have pointed out is useless. If you don’t drive, you have to get a down train to Maidstone East, then walk to Maidstone West, therefore any time saving has been wasted and pay extra for the privilege. The London service was poor before the Cannon St cuts, it needs to be improved over and above what it was by either more trains to Cannon St or Blackfriars.

It should not take 55mins to travel 35 Miles to London by train.

Lesley Ann James

03/29/2011 12:25

I agree with earlier postings. HS1 is of no use to man or beast travelling from West Malling.

We must not lose focus and fight for our rightful city train service OR an increased capacity. Dont give up the fight

Peter Harries

03/30/2011 03:46

Good morning MDRTA

I was told in December that the transport minister ( Theresa Villiers ) was considering certain options with Southeastern about improving the service from West Malling. The results of this were going to be made known at the end of February. We have heard nothing. Has MDRTA negotiated the return of the Cannon Street and London Bridge service ? Can someone shed any light on this ?

staxyn link

03/30/2011 22:01

Seems i found the best ever! I learnt a lot after reading all the comments and the blog...Thank you so much!

John Bishop

09/27/2011 06:28

Is this site still active..... we need to keep communicating !

I want to help lobby for a better city train link..... is anyone there ?

Martin Tripp

11/16/2011 09:04

John - Apologies from the MDRTA committee. There have been a few issues with the website, but these are being rectified. We are still working away trying to improve current services and reinstate (and then improve) City services. More will follow over the next few weeks. In the meantime, please keep us updated with your journey experiences. We are also looking for volunteers to join the committee to help continue the fight. Come and join us! Martin

Phil Brooks

11/28/2011 01:27

An interesting journey this morning (28th November), on the 06.22 west Malling to Bedford service. Checked the SE website early and all services were on time, apart from the 06.00 to Victoria, which was 2 minutes late. Got to the station and the Bedford was running 6 minutes late.

By the time it came into West Malling it was 20 minutes late. We eventually arrived at City Thameslink approx. 25 minutes after our arrival time.

What was to blame for this? Rather worryingly, it was blamed on 2 Network Rail de-icer trains, having broken down!

Now I know the temperature was below zero and this had been forecast the night before, but how can there be two de-icers broken down at this time? Poor rail conditions were the result of this.

SE trains and Network Rail keep telling us that they are prepared for snow, this winter, but the signs aren't great at the first onset of frost.

Mark Marston

11/28/2011 06:06

Good Morning

I share your frustrations ! It is not a good start to the winter.

I did manage to speak to the Kenden Parking chaps who advised that they have now purchased a brand new snow plough and 3 tonnes of salt to keep their car park clear. Should we get them to take over Southeastern ?

Regards

Scott Hooker

05/01/2012 07:56

Is this group still open?

Frank Lomas

05/10/2012 12:41

I am here and hoping the group will start up again..... There is a lot to be done as the new franchise process starts shortly..... We need to be represented.

Philip

05/16/2012 23:01

Hi All,

Is there any way we can get information from the train operating company that shows how many commuters are using stations other than their closest available on the Malling line to commute into London?

I myself commute from Malling to Mottingham on a daily basis, due to the lack of city services. Also, I refuse to pay premium prices for a third class service!

By travelling to Mottingham and taking into consideration fuel and parking charges my commuting costs are still significantly less than they would be from West Malling, which is frankly appalling.

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